Industrialism

Industrialism was a rough time for the working-class people. People were forced to work 10-12 hour days with no breaks and received little pay for the job they were doing. There were no regulations like we have now so employers could treat employees however they wanted, if they did not want to work the long hours the employers could easily find someone else looking for a job.

Employers hated the thought of unions, as long as there was no union they had no rules to follow. They could work their employees for long hours and had no safety regulations to follow. Employers could also fire an employee at any time as they wished. Unions would make a minimum wage cutting into employer’s profits.

Workers would have many benefits from unions such as shorter work days and days off from work. They would also receive benefits and be protected if they were hurt at work. People would be able to spend more time with their family and their quality of life would be better. This is something that the working class needed.

Industrialism had its ups and downs for the working class. It opened up many jobs, but these jobs were not great. Employers would make their employees work 10-12 hour days every single day. Unions eventually came to the rescue of these workers to make sure that they could live a life outside of work.

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5 thoughts on “Industrialism”

I really think its interesting to see other countries have longer work days then us and at the same time they want to shape and do stuff similar to other countries and so fourth. The facts that you have given us like the statistics that the work day would be anywhere from 10-12 hours per day averaging 60 hours per week. Was that ethical, i feel its unethical to have workers put that many hours in and still have them create and do produce items with 100% error free. Even tho as a country our hours average 40 hours per week and some go over that allotment and then there a ways that the U.S still make’s it ethical by giving them days off to balance themselves back to normal.

I’m sure when unions came about that the family time that was finally allowed was a great joy to all who were working and had not had any time to see or spend with their families. There definitely were like you said ups and downs to the industrialism taking place. It seems like there are still some places that act similar about finding someone else for the job. Knowing all that people endured during that era (gilded age) makes me appreciate and value all that we have today without a doubt.

I feel like nowadays when the majority of America’s population is asked about the industrial revolution, they think about how great it was for America’s economy, but many people don’t understand how detrimental it was to the lives of the working/middle class on a day to day basis. The lives of workers entailed work, sleep, and eating, there wasn’t much more to it. If the working class wanted to provide for their family they had to settle for the unfair wages and conditions provided. I find it interesting that these situations that happened to millions Americans during the Industrial Revolution is often overlooked.

I completely agree with what you are saying here. When asked about the industrial revolution so many Americans will just talk about how the U.S. became a leader in industrialization, without talking about the horrid effects it had on working-class families. Factory workers in this time suffered from long working hours, poor workplace safety, next to no job security and no set wage laws. One could argue, that the industrial revolution has been woven into a romanticized tale of America’s booming economy. You have to look a bit deeper to see the truth of the effect it had on working families.

If someone were to ask me what was entailed during the industrial revolution you would probably get all the positive events that happened at that time just like many of you said, but most people lack knowledge of what actually happened. I cannot imagine how tired and worn out people felt during that time especially today when many people complain about the amount of work they have now. Nobody will ever appreciate or understand how hard people worked during this time in history, but thanks to those hardworking individuals we have better working conditions today, unions, and so much more.